Soulmates
by amalspach
Summary: Don't get him wrong, Percy Jackson is a generally happy person. He just really wishes AC would just show up already. A Percabeth soulmates AU. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. I only take credit for the plot.**

* * *

Percy's kinda sick of waiting.

Don't get him wrong, Percy's a pretty happy, well-rounded person. It's just that he also happens to be an impatient person as well, and that leads to annoyance. Where is his soulmate?

You see, everyone has two letters on their wrist, one on top of the other. The first one represents the first letter of your match's name, and likewise for the bottom one. After you meet someone with your matching initials, if they really are your soulmate, the rest of their name will fill in. Like KG might become Katie Gardner, for example.

That happened to one of the people he knew during the summer. Travis met Katie and then it was all over. He came back to school the next year with this look on his face, like a permanently star-struck expression. All it took was for Travis to say, "I met someone!" and everybody knew what had happened. It's not like Percy wasn't excited for the guy, but in all honesty, it just made him more jealous.

Seriously, Percy was 18. Almost everybody else his age had found someone already. Why was it taking so long for her (or him; that happened sometimes) to show up?

To make matters worse, his best friend, Grover Underwood, was going to a different college come fall. They were all heading off to college, really, and the high school gang was breaking up. But Grover was heading off to a different state entirely. It was brutal; not only had he not found his soulmate yet, but his best friend since 3rd grade was leaving, too. Ouch.

Of course, Grover said he would miss Percy and keep in touch, but Percy knew that he would also be pretty busy with Juniper. Grover and Juniper had met at 13, which was incredibly rare for soulmates, and she had (coincidentally) gotten a full ride scholarship to the same college Grover was going to. She totally didn't influence Grover's decision at all. Nope. No way.

Well, it wasn't fair to say that he would be completely alone; he had Jason Grace, Frank Zhang, Leo Valdez, and a host of other friends. But all of those people already had someone; Jason met Piper, Frank met Hazel, Leo met Calypso. Aside from Rachel and Reyna (and neither of them were his soulmate because they shared the wrong initials), everyone he knew personally was set for life.

Again, this was unfair.

Percy sighed, looking out the window again. He really wished the girl he's been waiting for would hurry up and find him, already.

* * *

"It's all right, honey," Sally Jackson, Percy's mom, told him. "I'm sure she's going to find you really soon." Percy loved his mom to death and all, but a small part of him screamed 'easy for you to say'. Sally had already found her soulmate; both of them, actually.

Some people were destined to have more than one perfect match. They had two sets of initials, one on each wrist. Percy's mom was one such individual.

Sally had met Percy's father, Poseidon, at 17. The two got married young at 21, and they were happy. They lived together in New York for several years before having Percy. Then, during a boating accident, he died. The body was never recovered, since it got lost at sea, but Sally knew her husband was dead because his name was crossed out. A thick inky line scratched itself onto her wrist to this day.

But 5 years ago, Sally met Paul, and her second set of initials was completed. He had lost his wife in a car crash a couple years before meeting Sally, so they both had a lot in common. Now Percy was expecting a little sister, but he still didn't know what the name would be. Sally and Paul were still deciding.

"I know, mom, but I just want to _see_ her already," he whined, head slumped on the kitchen table as he talked to his mother. She was stirring sauce for spaghetti with a sympathetic look on her face.

"These things just take time," she murmured comfortingly. "But don't fret about it. She'll make the wait worth it, I'm sure."

"I hope so," he groaned. Today had been especially rough because his cousin, Nico, had found his match. He was 15. It didn't seem fair.

The worst part was that he had been there to witness the whole thing.

They were walking down to the grocery story to get some cookies. Ironically enough, Nico was talking about soulmates - specifically on how stupid the whole thing was.

"I mean, I've never even dated someone," he complained to Percy, who was only half listening. "I think the chances of finding someone that fits you that perfectly are almost nonexistent. It makes no sense! And I'm kind of a loner. I doubt anyone would _want_ to stick around, soulmate or no."

"You make it sound like a bad thing, Nico," Percy hummed. "Having someone to love you no matter what, to look out for you, to be your other half . . . I mean, I would kill to meet mine." He snorted in response, his black converse kicking at the sidewalk.

"That's what your friends and family do, anyways." Percy could only roll his eyes at the younger boy.

"Right, but it's a different kind of love. Haven't you ever wanted to get married and have a family of your own? I doubt your friends can give you that," he rebuffed. Nico only sighed.

"I don't think I'm the marrying type, though. I guess it would have to be the right - " Just then, a blonde haired teen walking down the street rounded the corner and bumped into Nico, spilling the contents of his coffee cup all over the boy.

"I'm so sorry! Are you alright? I swear I didn't mean to hit you!" the stranger said, flying into an existential panic. He covered his face with his hands. "I'm a mess today." Nico only groaned, getting off the pavement.

"It's fine, I guess. I should have been paying more . . ." Nico looked at the stranger, eyes widening. Percy looked between the two of them, slightly confused as to what was going on. He knew that Nico seemed to lean both ways, but still. They just met.

Oh, no. Right. Soulmates.

The stranger smiled shyly at Nico. He seemed to be the complete opposite of Percy's cousin; he was blonde, tall and tan, and he seemed like the kind of person that has a lot of friends. Nico sported a pale olive skin tone and dark black hair, and generally looked the part of doom-and-gloom. The man held out his hand to Nico.

"I'm Will." Despite his cynical-ism on the topic of matches earlier, his cousin smiled, shaking hands.

"I'm Nico." Percy watched as their initials turned into complete names. He clamped the younger boy on the back.

"Hey, congratulations, man," he said with a grin, but inside, he felt a twinge of bitterness. Seriously? His cousin, too? And of course Nico didn't even _want_ a soulmate. Perfect.

It wasn't like Percy wished Nico any ill will (ha ha ha, ill 'Will', I'm hilarious), it was just . . . frustrating. Mehhhhhhh.

Percy snapped back to the present and began staring at his wrist. He brushed his thump over the tender skin where AC was printed in neat black letters. Whoever AC was, they should hurry up before Percy loses his sanity.

"Dinner's ready!" Sally shouted down the hall for Paul's benefit. Percy got up to grab a bowl. He had a feeling he would need to drown his woes in spaghetti tonight.

* * *

Percy almost threw a conniption fit when he got handed the letter.

Percy Jackson was the head of the swim team. He knew he was good at swimming, but not this good. Not good enough to be qualified for a full ride scholarship to New York University. This wasn't happening. It had to be a dream of some kind, or maybe a prank. Colleges started in only a month and a half. Why wasn't he told sooner?

"MOM!" Percy shouted maniacally, racing down the hall of their apartment to the laundry room. She looked up from folding clothes.

"What is it, sweetheart?" she asked, shoving aside the items. He grinned so wide it nearly split his face.

"I got a scholarship!" Her eyes flew wide with pride. "A full ride scholarship for swimming!" Now she was laughing and crying, hugging the life out of her child.

"That's fantastic! I knew someone would see your talent, Percy!" Sally was squealing out the words with joy, too excited to think straight, much like her son. "Where is it to?"

"New York University!" he yelled. The people who lived above and below the Jackson family (and an unborn child) were probably scratching their heads at the noise, but Percy was too hyped up now to contain himself.

"We need to tell Paul!" Percy nodded hard, his head flipping back and forth eagerly. They picked up the phone and called Paul, forgetting that it was the middle of the day and he was already at work. Luckily for the mother and son duo, the stepdad was too overjoyed at the news to care.

Percy knew there was a reason he liked Paul.

But anyhow, Percy called absolutely everyone he knew about the issue, even going as far as to tell their neighbor from across the hall. After all of the initial glee had worn off, however, the teen realized he had forgotten to tell one very important person about the scholarship. Percy looked down at his wrist and smiled softly, almost resigned.

"I just wanted you to know that I got in, AC," he whispered. "I hope I'll see you there."

* * *

Percy felt like a real idiot for not realizing that he would need a place to stay earlier. Classes at the University were starting in only 3 weeks, but he hadn't really been looking for an apartment. He had always figured he would live with his parents through college, but then he remembered one very crucial detail; he had a little sister on the way. His mom would probably need the room her lived in as a nursery. Why hadn't he realized that sooner?

His mother, the kind soul she was, tried to assure Percy that he didn't need to go just yet, since the baby wasn't coming for another 3 months. But he figured she could use the time to prepare his room for the child, so why wait? Staying would only prolong the inevitable. After all, the teen couldn't live with Sally and Paul forever.

The only person he could really think to call was his cousin, Thalia. Since she lived in an apartment by herself in NY, maybe she would know what to do.

Thalia Grace had been living by herself since she was 14 years old. Her mother had died in a traffic accident due to alcohol when Thalia was 9. Her father, Zeus (Percy's first father's brother), was the wealthy owned of an electric plant. Once his wife died, though, he distanced himself from his kids; Percy's friend Jason was Thalia's younger brother by a year. She essentially raised Jason, but he didn't move out until he was 16. Unlike Thalia, he wasn't really equipped to strike out on his own, but now he was pretty self-reliant. Since Thalia graduated a year before Percy, however, she was already out of high school and had been taking online college courses.

Of course, the living arrangement thing wasn't the only reason Percy wanted to talk to Thalia. She also knew how it was to be lonely, since her soulmate died.

Thalia met Luke in 4th grade, which is just short of impossible. It's most common to meet your soulmate while you're 16, but finding your match at 10 years old? That's incredible - and unheard of. Even Grover and Juniper couldn't compete with that. But it was impossible to deny their soulmate status; the two were best friends and more instantly. But meeting your match earlier doesn't exactly guarantee a long and happy union. Two summers ago, there was a train wreck. Thalia was counted among the lucky ones; she lived without getting paralyzed or impaired for life. Luke wasn't so fortunate; he had a window seat and got stabbed in the side by a piece of glass. He died almost instantly, so he didn't suffer, but still; losing your other half is difficult for anybody, especially if you knew them for that long.

Like Percy's mom, her line was scrawled through with black, but there were no other initials for Thalia. She was alone for life, now, if you didn't count her friends. It was awful; Thalia was tough, but she was still the kind of person who wanted a husband and a family. During his funeral, she looked at Percy with glossy eyes.

"We had it all planned out," she had said. "We were going to get married and have two kids, and we were already talking about names. There's this house we found right outside of New York. It was 'all set for a small family', in the add's exact words. There was this pine tree out in front we were going to replace and take pictures with our kids. I wanted to get a dog; we would have named him Hermes, since our family has a thing for Greek names." She had started sobbing then. "We were going to have a future. And now it's all gone." Percy had held her then. Jason was standing next to them, wishing he could do something for his sister. But he didn't know what it was like to be alone like this. Jason had Piper, after all.

Now, almost approaching 19 as well, Percy felt like it might not happen for him. He was nearly 3 years late. After 21, people with only one match don't tend to find their other halves. It happened occasionally, sure, but most people's chances diminished rapidly. Yet another reason to dial Thalia.

So he rung her up, and she answered.

"Hey, Percy," she said over the phone. He could hear her crinkling a piece of paper in her hands. "I was actually just about to call you for something." He nearly fell backwards. Thalia barely ever called anyone; she was pretty isolated, thanks to her schoolwork and the fact that she was terrible with technology.

"Why?" he blurted out. "I mean, not that I'm not happy to talk to you or anything, I'm just curious." She laughed a little, easily recognizing the way he was trying to backpedal.

"The day you don't say everything you think is the day hell freezes over. Gods, I missed you guys. Jason is fine, right?"

"He hasn't suffered a mortal injury since you met up with him yesterday, so no," Percy deadpanned.

"Good. I can't ever know with you people. Remember that time when you fell and broke your arm, like, 10 minutes after I last called?" she asked. Percy groaned. His cousin was never going to let that die.

"Sadly, yes, I do. Now why are you calling? Stop question dodging."

"Question dodging? Is that the best you can come up with?" she snorted through the cell phone.

"Thals . . ."

"Fine!" she groaned. Percy realized that his cousin was nervous for once, and that, much like phone calls, never happens. Thalia was far too confident for that. "I thought I might join the Hunters." Percy's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. Out of all the possible answers she could have responded with, that was one he never expected.

"The Hunters? You mean that group of girls without soulmates? I thought you rejected their offer after Luke!" he replied, almost screaming due to his surprise. Percy could just imagine her twiddling her thumbs on her bed.

"Yeah, well, I don't know. An old friend of mine, Zoe, joined up. She's been trying to get me to as well. Percy," she paused over the phone, as if she was trying to find the words. Finally, she just said it bluntly. "I'm tired of living alone. I mean, yes, I have friends, but life without your soulmate is rough."

"I know," he said softly. "That was one of the reasons I wanted to call. Thalia, I'm sick of not knowing. All of my friends - heck, even my mom has somebody. Nico got one, if you hadn't known yet, and he didn't even really believe in matches. It's not fair." He felt like a whining child when he put it like that: 'it's not fair'. But it was just the truth.

Percy was a pretty content person; he got decent grades, despite being dyslexic and ADHD, he had a great family and a scholarship opportunity, and he had a bright future. But lately he just wanted more. He wanted to see AC, even if that made him seem a little desperate or ungrateful.

Luckily, Thalia, as always, understood.

"I get what you mean. I know I'm never going to find someone like Luke again," she told him, sounding almost resigned now. "But that's why I wanted to call you. You understand my problem better than most, so I thought you might understand why I wanted to join up. Those girls . . . Zoe says that they're like a family. A shoulder to lean on. I can't remember the last time I've had something like that." Percy nodded. It was easy to see why she wanted to go with them.

"You have my blessing, I guess, but I have a feeling you would have left with or without it."

"Probably, yeah," she responded. It was easy to envision her shrugging on the other end. "So as long as I don't have to recite their crappy slogan. 'The Hunters: We're on the Hunt for Healing!' It's so bad, I wanted to bang my head into the wall when I was given the pamphlet. I'm not even exaggerating, I'm holding the paper in my hands. It's like the Girl Scouts flyer on steroids." Percy couldn't help but laugh.

"Just remember, you're the one who wants to join." She groaned on the other end.

"Don't remind me." The two sported matching grins. Even if Thalia left New York, Percy figured they would still find a way to keep in touch. They were close. "But anyways, Percy, I was wondering why you called. You know, other than horrible crushing loneliness. Woe is us."

"Oh, I was just wondering if you knew a place where I could live. I decided to move out, since mom is going to need the room for the baby," he explained.

"Bold move, Jackson. I thought you'd mooch off your mom forever."

"Thalia!"

"Kidding," she replied lightly. "But seriously, it's funny that you mentioned that. I have a friend whose roommate Clarisse has just moved out to go live with her boyfriend. She needs a new tenant. How perfect is that?" Percy had to admit, it was more than he had expected. A ready-to-go room with one of Thalia's friends? He was really lucky.

"I'll take it, if it's close by and your friend likes me." Thalia whooped at her success in the background.

"Sweet, I'll take you to see the apartment this friday. You'll like her; she's great." Percy smiled.

"I'm sure I will, Thals." And just like that, he (almost) had a place to live.

* * *

"So, this is the place?" he questioned, looking up and down the building. It was a quaint little building about a block away from the metro, so location wise, it was nice. He was expecting a cardboard box, to be honest. Thalia liked to mess with him.

"Yup, this is it," Thalia responded, throwing up her arms. "Ta da! You look almost confused."

"Knowing you, there was no way of telling whether or not this was going to be a prank," he admitted without an ounce of guilt. Thalia smirked ans shook her head as if scolding him. Her short black hair bobbed about her shoulders as she did so.

"Well, no pranks this time, Percy, but you better watch out next time I come to visit. And I will be here to see Annie," she promised. Then the girl looked at her phone and winced. "And this is where I leave you. It's friday, after all, and so the bus going back to my place only comes by the station right now and at 10 pm." She scowled. "If I ever find the idiot who decided the bus schedules, I swear I'll - "

"Back up a second," Percy interrupted, holding his hand up to his face. "You're leaving me alone? I don't even know where your friend lives! She could be in any of those rooms! And weren't you going to introduce me?"

"I would have been able to stay longer had _someone_ woken up earlier," she reminded him with crossed arms. Percy only scratched his neck, flush with embarrassment. His cousin had him there.

"I needed my beauty rest!"

"Har har, Percy. Now seriously, I have to leave. My friend lives in room 29 on the third floor. Remember to be on your best behavior for Anna; she's great, but a little . . . firm. She doesn't tolerate jerks."

"Noted, but no promises."

"That's what I was afraid of. Bye!" she shouted, the breeze making her coat fly open as she dashed back down the sidewalk. Percy hoped she got to the bus station in time. Otherwise she'd flay him alive during her next visit.

"Bye, Thalia," he waved. When he put his wrist back down, he caught a glimpse of AC. "I guess it's just you and me, now." And so he went inside in pursuit of the apartment.

Percy considered himself a relatively athletic person, but the stairs in this place were nuts. Who even thought to arrange a staircase like this?

They had put a staircase at the end of the first hall, on the first floor, but then you had to weave your way through the entire second floor in order to get to the stairs. And this time, they weaved back and forth every 10 steps, so something that should have taken Percy about 30 seconds and 20 steps to climb took him almost 2 minutes and 70 steps. He knew; he counted the steps out of spite. Once he went down the main hall of the apartment complex and wandered around for another five minutes, he realized Thalia's friend had a room located on a branch off hallway he had passed next to the stairs, and so on went the adventure. At last, room 29 was located, and Percy could die happily knowing he accomplished something.

He knocked on the door, wrapping the wood lightly with his soulmate wrist. A voice answered from the other side.

"Who is it?" she called.

"I'm Percy, Thalia's cousin. You are Anna, right?" The girl laughed, and it sent goosebumps up his arms. What was up with him right now? It wasn't that drafty in here.

"My name is Annabeth, but close enough," she corrected. Then the girl unlocked the door with an audible 'click' and allowed him in. Percy officially stopped breathing, because she was definitely the prettiest girl he had ever talked to. Thalia forgot to mention that her friend was gorgeous.

Annabeth was tall, tan, and fit, with blonde locks that looked like princess curls. Her eyes weren't an ice blue; they were more of a light gray or a silver, and they reminded Percy of the calm before a storm. She wasn't dressed to impress - she was only wearing jeans and an orange t-shirt - but he didn't think he would have cared anyhow. The sky was blue, the grass was green, and Annabeth was stunning. It was just a fact of life.

Luckily, Percy wasn't the only one starring. Annabeth sat there for a moment, scrutinizing his face as if she were committing it to memory.

"I feel like I know you," she said. Then she looked at her wrist and gasped. Annabeth grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him inside, practically tackling Percy.

"What just . . . woah," he breathed incredulously. The initials on his wrist were finally completed. He ran his fingers over the ink, tears pooling in his vision. "Annabeth?" She grinned like she'd just won the lottery.

"Chase," she recited. "Annabeth Chase. I've been waiting forever for you, you idiot." He laughed, because after all that worrying, here she was - his soulmate, in the flesh. It seemed to good to be true.

"Does this mean I get the room?" he asked nervously, half afraid she'd say no. But after all of this waiting, there was no way he would have excepted no for an answer. He wanted to know everything there was to know about Annabeth; where she grew up, where she was going to college, what her favorite food was, what made her smile, and a million other things he had been afraid he would never get to know.

"Of course, you dork," she laughed, shoving him. "You have no idea how crazy you were driving me. I thought I would never get to meet you." Percy smiled at her, because she was honestly too good to be true. "Is it weird that I feel this comfortable around you? Like I've known you my whole life?" Percy grabbed her hand, only wondering after the fact if that was okay.

"Not at all, Annabeth. Not at all." And somehow everything was great.

* * *

It was winter on campus, but Percy didn't really feel the chill. That was probably because Annabeth was squeezing his hand tightly, like she would never let go. Percy was pretty sure he didn't want her to. They'd only known eachother for about 3 months, but when you're soulmates . . . well, time doesn't seem to matter so much.

Currently, she was geeking out on him due to all of the 'fascinating historical architecture' around them. It made sense, if you thought about it, since Annabeth wanted to be an architect, which was nothing short of incredible. Of course Percy's soulmate is a genius; why wouldn't she be? That was also one of the main reasons she picked the apartment she had; she loved the unique style of the building, along with its location in relation to the campus.

Frankly, he had no idea what she was saying half the time, since her terminology was so much more advanced than he was used to, so he ended up humming and nodding his head in the right moments. To be honest, Percy loved hearing the sound of her voice and often zoned out during her many speeches, which was one of the main reasons he had taken this walk with her. Another reason was because his soulmate had wanted to go outside, and he could never say no to her. One look and all of his willpower was gone. He really hoped their children wouldn't catch on to that detail as quickly as she did, because if so, he would be one of those dads who spoiled their kids rotten without any protest. Not that there was a problem with that, though . . .

Kids. It was strange, how comfortable he was with the premise. He thought that he would have been too laid back a person to really want children, but Percy soon discovered that he felt different. It's incredible, how much happier he feels with Annabeth. He definitely sees a future for them. The thought alone is enough to make him bite his cheek to hold back a grin. He can't wait for that future to begin.

* * *

"Annabeth," Percy began. "I loved you before we even met. You've been my everything for three years and I want to embrace the future and have a life with you. I know everything there is to know about you; you get up at 7 am sharp every morning, you hate cold showers, your favorite color is orange, you want to start your own company one day, you have a huge fear of spiders, and much more. And likewise, you know everything about me, and it drives me crazy in the best possible way. You're my soulmate, and my world. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" She looked at him for a second, her mouth puckered into an 'o'. There were tears pooling in her eyes as she laughed joyfully.

"Was it even a question, Percy?"

" . . . Is that a yes? Because it would be really embarrassing if I just said all of that for nothing." She starred at Percy for a moment, trying to decide whether to kiss or strangle him. Eventually she gave up, shaking her head with amusement and opting for the first line of thought.

"Of course, you dork." She gets him right on the lips, and all he is capable of doing as his brain turned to mush is kiss her back. He loves her way too much, it seems. Or maybe not enough. Either way, if he got Annabeth out of this deal, the whole soulmates issue was worth waiting through.

"I'm so glad it was you," he whispered after coming up for air, his forehead rested against hers. She smiled at him softly.

"Me too, Percy." At last, everything was perfect.

Thank god for AC.

* * *

 **So yup. This is my soulmates AU for Percabeth. I am a sappy person. I figured 'why the heck not' and wrote this in my spare time. The bold and italics keys are messed up on this document for some reason, which is driving me nuts, but it's only on this document. I dunno if my problem will carry over to future docs or if it even shows up on here. If it did and I'm just complaining for nothing now, I am sorry you had to listen to me. Blame it on the system.**

 **Also, be sure to check out some of my other Percabeth fics; don't worry, I will post more eventually. This is my favorite fandom of all time. That shall never change.**

 **Anyways, goodbye! I'll see you all in 2017!**


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